Eddie Hearn accuses the British Boxing Board of Control of ‘LEAKING’ Conor Benn’s failed drugs test before giving him a chance to clear his name, as he reveals his fighter will release a statement ‘confirming all the facts’ in the next 48 hours
- Conor Benn’s fight with Chris Eubank Jr was called off over a failed drugs test
- Eddie Hearn says that the British Boxing Board of Control leaked Benn’s results
- Hearn says they denied Benn the chance of clearing his name before the fight
- Hearn claimed Dillian Whyte was in a similar situation in the summer of 2019
- Hearn has also revealed Benn will be releasing a statement in the next 48 hours
Eddie Hearn says the British Boxing Board of Control leaked the results of Conor Benn‘s failed drugs test to the press before giving him the chance a to clear his name.
Benn’s highly-anticipated bout with Chris Eubank Jr was postponed after the former tested positive for trace amounts of fertility drug clomiphene, which elevates testosterone levels.
Hearn says the British Boxing Board of Control ‘sat on the results’ and ‘leaked them to the press’ before giving Benn the chance to have a ‘hearing’ and clear his name like Dillian Whyte did in 2019.
It was Sportsmail who broke the news that Benn had failed a drugs test after traces of clomiphene were found in his system prior to his fight with Eubank Jr.
Hearn says people have ‘presumed Benn is guilty without any sort of hearing’ and blamed the British Boxing Board of Control.
Hearn said they experienced a similar situation with Whyte in the build-up to his points win against Oscar Rivas in 2019. However, Hearn praised UKAD for how they dealt with the situation.
He said UKAD conducted a confidential investigation into Whyte’s results and gave the Body Snatcher the opportunity to clear his name as a hearing.
Hearn claims the British Boxing Board of Control denied Benn the same opportunity by leaking his results to the press.
Eddie Hearn has blamed the British Boxing Board of Control for leaking Conor Benn’s results
Benn (R) failed a drugs test in the build-up to the cancelled clash against Chris Eubank Jr (L)
Speaking to TalkSPORT, Hearn said: ‘Firstly, nothing was kept quiet. This is a really important fact. People feel this was brushed under the carpet.
‘But, the British boxing board of control which are our governing body and the regulators – who decide if a fight will take place or not – knew all information at all points.
‘All information around the test will be released by Conor Benn in due course. It’s very important for us. We were faced with a decision a couple of weeks before the fight to receive this information from WADA.
‘Understand as well, the British boxing board of control have their own regulatory testing board which is UKAD. We pay for additional testing to keep the sport as safe as possible – which is WADA.
Benn tested positive for banned substance clomifene in the build-up to the mega-fight
‘WADA is not recognised by the British boxing board of control. One of the problems around this is that WADA is a reporting agency. So WADA will report to the athletes.
‘That was at the request of Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn. They said they would like additional testing for this bout.
‘When we received the information, that came back to Matchroom, to Conor Benn, to Wasserman (which is Chris Eubank Jr’s promoter), to Chris Eubnak Jr and the British Boxing Board of Control.
‘So, everyone knew about the results at the same time. From there, we had a decision to make. We spoke to Kalle Sauerland, Chris Eubank, Conor Benn and the British Boxing Board of Control.
‘We said, look we have a situation here. From that moment medical advice and specialist advice was taken from those results.
Hearn says they found out about Benn’s test results at the same time Eubank Jr (pictured) did
‘Kalle Sauerland and Wasserman did their own research on that information and at the point in time Chris Eubank Jr had the right to terminate the fight.
‘However, it is ultimately up to the British Boxing Board of Control to sanction the fight. Chris Eubank and Wasserman came back and said, based on the information we have received around the test, we are happy to continue with the fight.
‘We had a similar situation with Dillian Whyte. He had a hearing before his fight. UKAD cleared him to fight. He had a hearing and he got cleared.
‘Conor Benn never had a chance to have a hearing before the fight. They just sat on it and leaked it to the press and went from there.’
Sportsmail have contacted the British Boxing Board of Control for comment.
Hearn has said Benn will be releasing a statement confirming the ‘facts’ in the next 48 hours
Hearn went on to say Benn would be releasing a statement disclosing all the ‘facts’ within the next ’48 hours’.
He said: ‘Conor Benn has an on-going legal case and we can’t say too much as it is prejudice to that. But, I would say in the next 48 hours you will see a full statement from Conor Benn around that legal case with his confirmation of all the facts.
‘From our point of view, I have no problem talking about it and the process that unfolded, that lead to the eventual decision from the British Boxing Board of control.
‘Conor Benn is straight away presumed guilty without any sort of hearing because that’s generally the way it works in this sort of situation.
‘Sometimes that’s fair actually but Benn has a big fight on his hands to try and save his career.’